AWS and Vector continue development of New Energy Platform
Vector has seen several milestones this year, not least of which has been their strategic alliance with Amazon Web Services (AWS), announced in July, to jointly develop the New Energy Platform (NEP).
The NEP is an analytics solution for the energy industry, and has been introduced in Australia and New Zealand with an aim to deliver 'more affordable, reliable and cleaner energy options'.
The solution is powered by AWS and leverages IoT to deliver its services, as well as Vector's industry knowledge.
The initial focus of the NEP is to collect and analyse data from more than 1.6 million IoT-connected Vector advanced meters that gather information on energy consumption and network performance across ANZ.
This information is used by Vector to enable energy companies to adjust pricing solutions for their customers based on their energy consumption habits.
"We see New Zealand as a hub of innovation, and it's exciting to work with Vector, a leader in smart energy solutions, to pioneer the NEP and deliver on our shared vision to drive a more sustainable future of energy," says AWS New Zealand managing director for commercial sector Nick Walton.
"This strategic alliance will have a profound impact on the energy sector, as Vector and AWS work together to leverage advanced IoT, analytics, machine learning, and compute services to digitise millions of energy network assets at scale.
"We are proud to work with Vector to support New Zealand's economy by together creating 30 new highly-skilled job and deliver the vision of empowering energy and utility companies to leverage data collected by the NEP to deliver solutions that will help consumers tailor their energy consumption, reduce their carbon footprint, and save money."
The IoT analytics from AWS also helps Vector plan energy networks and increase reliability for customers, the company says. Vector is also hoping to decrease meter processing time in Australia from 30 to five minutes by 2021.
This rapid processing can result in more precise information being sent to the energy market, which could result in pricing models that incentivise the use of cleaner energy, says Vector.
This strategic alliance to jointly develop the NEP is the first of its kind for AWS in New Zealand and AWS in the global energy sector. Through their strategic partnership, Vector and AWS plan to hire more than 30 employees in highly skilled technology and engineering roles in New Zealand to help develop the NEP and associated applications.
"Consumers are demanding cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable energy, and through our alliance with AWS we are taking critical steps to transform how the energy industry operates," says Vector chief executive officer Simon Mackenzie.
"While there have been technology advances in the energy industry, there has been very little close to the consumer, and that's where we see our role. By collaborating with AWS, our vision is for the NEP to transform the energy industry by using data to inform innovation and product development.
"The NEP can displace legacy systems creating a step-change in processing power, flexibility, and accuracy, addressing the rapidly changing requirements of metering and information systems.
"This industry-first in New Zealand is another step in our long-stated ambition to partner with like-minded organisations to benefit our energy and utility customers, and ultimately consumers.
